I recently purchased an 1871 Springfield (Remington) rolling block rifle.I'm really happy with how it looks, and shoots except for what seems like about a 30 pound trigger pull.That's just a guess; could be 20-25, but it's pretty strong.

Do any of you guys have any wisdom about how to reduce the trigger pull on this rifle?

I'm guessing you have a military rifle, I had a Burnside carbine you could carry by the trigger! Assuming your rifle is clean and properly oiled a heavy trigger pull is governed by spring strength and sear angles. The correct sear notch on the hammer will allow the sear to move with out undue effort even with a heavy spring. The amount of engagement affects the amount of creep you feel befor the hammer falls. A well polished surface of both sear and hammer reduces the drag. This long winded (for me) explanation is to guide you towards a gunsmith to do the work needed. It's too easy for the untrained hand to get the angles wrong and at best ruin some parts but more likely to make a unsafe gun.

Upon further reflection (and more shooting)...I've decided to leave the trigger pull as-is.I like the idea of shooting it as it was built to be shot.It's just a privilege to have a chance to shoot a piece of history.

I had a NY State Militia 50/70 Rolling Block at one time. In an article I wrote concerning it and another militia rifle I had back then I described the RB's trigger thusly: imagine sliding a heavy brick across the top of a rough work bench with one finger until if finally fell of the end. That's what the trigger pull of that RB felt like.

I once replaced the trigger spring in a NY Militia RB with one made of piano wire bent to the same profile. Trigger pull was reduced about 12-13# (to 5# and some odd-ounces) but the creep was more noticeable. After shimming the full-cock notch, it wasn't half bad.

Then I traded it off for some forgettable rifle I "had to have", and have been kicking myself for 25 years.